[August 22, 2014]ROME (Reuters) - Pope Francis called
the parents of James Foley, the American journalist killed by Islamic
State militants in Iraq, to offer his condolences and support, a Vatican
spokesman said on Friday.

The pope spoke at length with Diane and John Foley on Thursday
afternoon with the aid of a Spanish-speaking friend of the family,
the spokesman said.

"It was a very long, intense conversation," he said.

James Foley was beheaded by a masked member of the Islamic State
group in an act filmed in a video released on Tuesday.

As Islamic State fighters have swept through northern Iraq, Pope
Francis has repeatedly spoken out against the violence which has
seen thousands of Christians and others including Shia Muslims and
members of the Yazidi sect killed or driven from their homes.

He said this week that Western countries would be justified in
taking action to stop the "unjust" aggression.